The beefcake is pouring his efforts into male grooming after his single Starlight whimpered to No.185.

âFor critics to be dismissive and say my careerâs over just because it didnât reach number oneâ¦ well, give me a f***ing chance,â fumed the 2010 X Factor champ.

He blames the âhuge successâ of Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke for showing him andÂ fellow flop Joe McElderry up.

As for his ripped bod, the 28-year-old is happy to share hisÂ secret to GT magazine. âIâve had my teeth whitened and I keep myself nice and tidy with the clippers. I go all the way and keep myself very, very tidy â when I canât see Little Matt, itâs time for a trim.â

Matt Cardle appears on the cover of Gay Times (Picture: GT/Dylan Rosser)

But itâs still not good enough. âIâd rate my body about four out of ten,â he said. Heâs under pressure because his dancer girlfriend Sarah hangs out with âripped gayâ guys.

âI didnât want her to be coming home to an overweight, pasty bloke so I started doing a lot of press-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups,â he added. âI donât consider myself a sexy guy â never have, never will. Most of the time I hate myself in pictures and videos.â

As for the lads, Matt said: âIâve always been comfortable in my sexuality. Iâm comfortable kissing a guy on the cheek but Iâve only ever kissed a guy on the lips when I was dared to play Gay Chicken.â Matt insisted: âI wasnât a ladiesâ man at all.â

Nonetheless, the former bricklayer scores his bedroom manoeuvres far better than his work-out results. He added: âHow would I rate myself in bed?

‘Ha! Iâve had a lot of practice, letâs put it that way. Iâve always been in relationships and always had a lot of sex and when you do something a lot, you tend to get better at it.â

As for his future, he said: âIâm trying my best not to come out of the show as the bloke who didnât do very well.â